



-™'™.; 





'.•>aa?' ■■■•) ■ 






'^:^:p^ 



.,'-J<- ?'::•;: >*".•"* 



HOME BOOK 



TO LEARN 
EXPERT 



SHOE REPAIRING 

^v^_ BY — 

J: M. Levinson 



PRICE 50 CENTS 



The best part of a man's work is when he sees how it 
is done by others and tries to better it himself. 



Any inexperienced shoe repairer can learn 

from this book how work has to be done, so 

it should give the wearer comfort. So this 

will increase his business. 



o9)2> 



^^'V 
\'\^ 



L^.^t^ 



Copyrighted October 21, 1916, 

by J. M. Levinson, 

725 West Fifty-Fourth Street 

Los Angeles, California 



JAN 13 1917 jH^IP^ 

481)85 I 



5C1.A1 



This is a Home Book on How to 
Learn Expert Shoe Repairing 



— BY — 

J. M. LEVINSON 



This book is written so that any intelligent person 
can learn the art of expert Shoe-repairing. All over 
the country, people wonder why schools have not got 
the art of shoe-repairing in boys' manual training. 

This book gives you a full course on how to do 
expert shoe repairing, from beginning to the end. If 
you want to experiment on shoe repairing, study every 
detail Ave have written in this book. I am an expert in 
the art of shoe-repairing, and I have a good record with 
the State Board of Education at Sacramento. This 
book Avill give more knowledge to shoe-repairers who 
are in business now. 

3 



Anyone who Avants to make a success must learn 
the best way how. There are schools where people are 
learning and learning good. It takes many years of 
hard study for a doctor to get his diplomas. And then 
he must practice all his life to become an expert phy- 
sician. A designer or a draftsman must work out his 
plans before. he can complete machinery. An inventor 
works many years on his invention before he can get 
it in perfect order. Every line of trade must take sev- 
eral years of practice, and in many trades you cannot 
find experts. The differnce between the man who has 
a trade but is not an expert at it, and the man who is 
an expert is, the man who is not an expert at his trade 
always tries to get through his work as quickly as 
possible, so he can get the money quicker. He is the 
one that will lose in the end. 

The expert does the work and studies the best way 
he can do it. They are the ones who get a better price 
for the time they spend at their job. E\ery man is try- 
ing to better himself as far as his ability will let him go. 
From many years of practice in shoe repairing I find 
that today the shoe-repairing trade is a very important 
one. No matter how stockings look in a shoe, whether 
they are silk or cotton, it doesn't show. But if a shoe 
is torn, that will show, and it must be fixed. Nowadays, 

4 



the shoe-repairers are established with the best machin- 
ery, and the machine does all its work in stitching and 
finishing. Bnt in the meantime you cannot call your- 
self an expert when the machines do the Avork. Now- 
adays, we have thousands of shoe shops where the owner 
of the shop never has learned the trade thoroughly to 
be an expert. Although he may have business ability, 
you can call them speculators, or as I would call them 
"fakers." No man has a right to call himself a doe- 
tor when he is not. Such doctors, or quacks, are get- 
ting prosecuted by the law. A man who is starting 
a shoe repair shop and doesn't know how a shoe has 
to be repaired, not only ruins the shoes, but makes it 
a danger for the people. That is why such shoe-repair- 
ers cannot make a success. There are thousands of 
dollars' worth of shoes thrown away. People claim 
they cannot wear their shoes after the inexperienced 
shoe-repairer has fixed them. 

No matter how badly a shoe has been worn and 
torn, it can be repaired and put in shape so that it can 
give the wearer comfort and will have an appearance 
like a new shoe. After the shoe is worn out again, the 
shoe can be repaired as long as the upper of the shoe 
lasts. 

5 



Ill shoe repairing there is just as great a profit as 
in any best line of trade. With my many years of 
experience I find it necessary to have this book published 
so people can study and experiment on how the repair- 
ing must be done. Nowadays, the public look on shoe- 
repairing as a low trade. That is because shoe-repairers 
do not know hoAv to repair shoes as they should be. 
And the public suffers from the comfort they need. 
To Prepare a Sole So It Should Be Comfortable. 
Tiie sole should be flat and the shoe straight after 
it is repaired. 

Follow the Model 
P^'ig. A. The sole is worn out in the toe. It presses 
out a hole inside. Fig. E. Then it leaves a bump. 
First scive off at Fig. E the inner sole. Then fill in with 
felt in Fig. A so it will become level. Then the inner 
sole is thicker in Fig G. Scive under a little, fill out 
the bottom with the felt. It should then be level witli 
welt. Fig C is worn out in the center. Some times 
it is Avorn through the inner sole. So it leaves a bump 
at Figure F. Scive off a piece of leather and put it in 
where the inner sole is worn in. Figure C. Paste the 
piece of leather on and put it in the shoe so it shall all 
be level. Figure F. In this place the inner sole is bent 

6 




Model of a Sole 
7 



If you put on the sole the bent part will press in the 
foot and it will be very uncomfortable to your feet 
when you walk. Then by sciving in Figure F it will 
relieve the bent part and then it will work like a spring. 

Figure B. Prepare the same Avay as Figure A. 

Figure D is worn on the outside. Then you turn 
the sole toward the inside. Hold your hand at Figure 
H, press the shoe back to the outside, hammer down 
tlie bottom, put a tack in the shank of the shoe where 
you see Fig. H. Press so it holds the shank from moving 
toward the inside; when you feel the bottom don't fill 
in Figure F as this place has to be repaired so that the 
bent part of the inner sole should have room to go back. 

By putting the sole on the shoe, it depends on how 
the sole should be put on to put the shoe in good shape. 

Figure H 

Figure II shoAvs you the right measure from the 
soles to the heels. Where you see double H, when you 
put the sole on, put it on from the shank and drive 
in each side, and one nail in the center. Then raise the 
toe of the shoe with your hand and then have the sole 
straight, drive a tack in the sole near the toe, then 
trim the sole so that you don't cut the welt from the 
shoo. You cannot take much pains by putting on a 

8 



sole on a hand turned shoe, when the old sole is worn out. 
A good many inexperienced men don't prepare the 
old sole before they put on the new one. They trim 
the shoe so that the stitches are getting loose. So there is 
no sole left to sew to it, as they cut the edge of the sole 
away, that the foundation of the shoe is gone. 

How to Nail a Sole in a Turned Shoe 

Examine the part wliere the sole is Avorn so the 
stitches are disaffected. First scive the sole so it should 
\>() n]\ h'\e!. in Figure F. Scive off the sole so it should 
be the same thickness as it is worn in Figure C or Figure 
D. See which part of the sole is mostly Avorn, then 
scive the sole all around the same thickness. Around 
tlie edge leave enough extra sole leather so you can put 
your nails in, and nails % of an inch are big enough. 
F>ut before you put on the sole it must be level as any 
little Avill hurt. 

The young will learn if they study this book. Some 
slioe-i'cpairers will tell you that the bottom has to be 
inside the way the shoe is worn. It is more comfortable. 
'^\y experience is that the inside of the shoe has to be 
level. It is unlevel because the sole from the shoe is 
worn. If you ever tried to play with a little ditch, and 
you put water where it is lower the water will flow 

9 



down, and if it is hilly, it stops, and if you want water 
to run the place you Avant it to, so you will get it to a level 
place, so it won't flow either way. And this is the way 
Avith the veins in your feet. If one place is lower and 
the other place higher it stops the vessels in the vein 
to run and it weakens your feet> and it produces all 
kinds of trouble, and by doing the right way will get 
away with the ignorant Avhich they call first-class shoe 
repairing. 

There is a model for a nailed shoe. You can't take 
too much care to nail on a welt shoe. A good many 
shoe-repairers, when they nail the sole on, clinch the 
Avelt to the upper. That draAvs the shoe in and pulls the 
welt out of shape. 

Ahvays repair the sole and follow the model A. B. G. 
etc. It shoAvs you hoAv far apart the nails have to be 
from the edge. By preparing the sole, have the sole 
Avider than the Avelt. If you trim in close, and by nail- 
ing on, the welt spreads out. Then you have to trim 
the welt from the shoe, and that ruins the shoe. Before 
you nail the sole around, put rubber cement between 
the sole and the welt and let it dry a little before you nail 
it. Ahvays drive the nails toward the sole so it will not 
clinch the upper. 

10 




Model of a Nailed Half Sole 



11 



To Prepare a Sole on a Slip-sole 

If you notice uneven places in the inside of the shoe 
and you haven't any way to take it out, split the slip- 
sole from Figure F to Figure C. Take a screw driver 
and dig out the cork which conies together in one place 
hy v/eaving the shoe. Then scive the slip-sole and 
fill in more with felt in the worn part, so it will be 
level. Then put your sole on. 

To Straighten a Heel 
Sec which part of the heel is worn. See how the 
counter is. Sometimes a person will wear a heel out- 
side, and the counter will turn to the inside. Straighten 
the heel where it is worn. Raise the inside a little 
higher. Extend the top lift to the inside. This will 
prevent the counter from turning down. 

If a toe wears on a hand-turned sole it should not 
cut the foundation from the old sole. You can take a 
file and file it out as far as you want to put the tip on. 
Then you can cement both parts and this Avill make a 
neat job when finished, or you can nail it on so that 
the nail w^ill not be too heavy so it wall go through 
the shoe. Some people, if they wear on the side of 
the sole, like to have it fixed with a piece of leather. 
As they don't feel like spending their money for a new 
sole, and this can also be neatly done. 

12 




COUNTER NAILED AROUND HEEL 

(Piece of Sole Leather) 



13 



Mark on the sole how far you will have that piece 
of leather on. Scive the old sole so the new piece of 
leather will set in a level, and make it so it should be 
a level edge. 

A shoe is turned to the inside of the counter. Notice 
how the heel is turned to the outside. This can be easily 
straightened up so it will be as good as ever. 

Take the heel off and remove the sole from the 
counter. See that the inner sole from the heel is in 
good condition, so that the nails should hold. Then 
open the side from the counter which is turned down. 
Make it wet and hammer it to your last so it gets straight- 
ened. Cut a thin piece of sole leather and scive it 
around. The leather could be shaped like the counter. 
Paste the piece of leather on and put some paste be- 
tween the counter and the upper. Then put piece of 
leather in. Hammer down the outside of the counter 
so it should move to the inside- where it is turned. 
Next take and last the counter in. Put your sole back. 
Then move to the inside, put your heel on; also move 
to the inside. This will never turn down again. 
Broken Counter from a Heel 

On page 13 you will notice models of a counter and 
a piece of inner sole the model of a heel. Take the old 
counter out from the shoe and cut a piece of thin sole 

14 



leather. Scive the edges around on the counter. The 
next line indicates how far to bend it so it should go over 
the inner sole. Take the piece of inner sole like the 
model. Take the counter, nail it around the inner sole, 
so it will look like a box. Cut in the heel the old inner 
sole so the new piece will set to a level. Paste the new 
counter all around. Put in the shoe and push it back 
as far as the upper leather from the sole allows so it will 
hold the inner sole tight. This counter will stay in the 
shoe as long as the sole lasts. 

The Right Way to Sew Rips in a Torn Shoe 
It has to be sewn the same way as Avhen it Avas 
new. If you sew it from the upper to the sole, the 
stitches wear off and it gets loose. The right way to 
do is to take a double waxed end from the place you 
start to sew the rip. Take the sewing awl and pull 
through both ends to the waxed end. If you have a 
knot it should be left on top of the sole. Then take one 
line from your waxed end, take the awl and go through 
the same hole that you see under the sole. Then take 
the other line from your waxed end, and you will see 
the holes where it has been sewn before. Take it 
through the outside upper, the same end which you 
have gotten through the upper. Take it through again 
to the next hole. Then take the outside end and go 

15 



through the hole from the sole. Pull the end out only 
half way. Take your awl and put it in your waxed 
end. Take the inside end; the bristle from the inside 
put in the other waxed end — not far in. Pull the out- 
side end out, so you can get the inside end out. Take 
the bristle from the waxed end, and pull both ends 
from the inside and the outside. Do this over again. 
Take the next hole and pull the outside end through 
the upper. Take the same end to the next hole. Put 
the outside end through the sole. Do the same till you 
have it sewn. When it is sewn you cannot see any 
stitches from the upper to the sole. 

How to Prepare a Patch on a Sole 
Put a stretcher in the shoe and straighten the shoe. 
Take a piece of chalk and mark around the hole where 
it is to be patched. Take a new piece of leather, same 
as shoe. Put it on the chalk mark. Then cut piece of 
leather where it is marked. Scive that piece of leather 
very thin. Then scive off the grain of the shoe where 
your mark is. Take piece of sand paper where the 
patch has to set in. Sandpaper heavier, so the patch 
will rest in. Then take leather cement and put it on 
the patch on the shoe. Let it dry till the cement is 
fairly white. Then warm up with a match so it will 
melt. See that you keep the match far enough away so 

16 




Model of a Sewed Half Sole 



17 



you Avoii't burn the leather. Put patch on, hammering 
sliglitly with a warm burnishci- iron. Press it down and 
that will make a perfect job. 

This model will show you how to prepare a sole 
for hand-turned shoes. First put your shoe on the last. 
Take a pattern of the sole. Cut out your leather. Put 
your leather on the old sole as far as the sole has to be. 
Take your knife and mark on the old sole the length of 
the new one. Trim the new sole off from the shoe. Put 
on the other sole. Cut it even so one sole will not be 
wider than the other. On the model you will see three 
lines. The first line is the line from the sole. Take your 
knife and channel as far as you see to the second line 
from the edge. Cut that channel out so the upper and 
stitches will rest on the edge — the edge from the sole. 
Then channel the third line tOAvard the end so the 
stitches Avill cover up after you sew on the sole. Then 
cut off the old sole about one-half inch shorter from 
the mark you made. Then put on the sole and take the 
sole through the inside of the shoe. Pull the upper 
through so the shoe is turned. Put some paste between 
the upper and the lining in the toe. Then last the shoes, 
so that, if there are any tips on, one should not be 
longer than the other. When you start to sew start 
from the upper. When you have it sewed around, by 

18 



tiu'uing the sole, press the toe from the sole to the tip 
of tlie shoe and push it through until the shoe is 
turned. Put on the last- hammer it down so that it 
will conio to a level. Take some paper, put it in the toe 
of the shoe so the toe of the shoe will get in shape. Let 
the shoe dry thoroughly before you finish. 

A young man asked me what experience in shoe- 
repairing is, anj'how. You put on a sole and nail it around 
and blacken the edge until it shines and then it is done. 
This is done to protect the foot from the ground. You 
won't damage your feet if the shoe is fixed right. A shoe 
which has a slip sole or Avhich has bumps and hollows 
or the edge from the welt sticks out from the shoe, if 
the inner sole is tight to the sole and there is no give 
to it. This is worse than splinters. When you have a 
shoe fixed you have to put your hand in and see how 
uiilevel the inner sole is. When you see bumps or hollow 
places the model gives you the right idea how to relieve 
this. 

A man should never go on a race track unless 
he is an experienced driver. Don't hurry with your 
work unless you know that you can do it good and 
neatly. 

A young man wants to learn the shoe trade and he 
asked me if this trade pays, and what a man can earn 

19 



if you are a good, experienced man, a man who does 
good work. There always is a job open for him. And 
you can make from $3.50 to $4 a day. It also doesn't 
take much capital to start a business for yourself. You 
can earn from $5 to $6 a day. It depends on how much 
work you are getting in. You can always make as much 
as any good mechanic. And also you are your own boss 
If you are a good worker, the public will soon know it 
and will keep you busy. You also can earn an unlimited 
amount of money if you have plenty of business to 
supply a couple of men. Good hired men now are very 
scarce. An expert's idea is not to do the work unless 
he can turn out good work, and to please the customers. 
After the people will study and follow the way it is 
explained, the market Avill have nothing but expert shoe 
repairers. 

Most starters in shoe repairing have hardships to 
handle a knife. It is too hard for them to cut leather, 
giving blisters on fingers and spoiling the looks of the 
hand. 

Take a piece of leather about one inch wide and 
measur!e around your finger so it is tight like a glove. 
Sew it together, cut a hole in the leather the size of 
your knuckle so you can move your finger. You then 
will handle your knife without hurting yourself and 
spoiling the looks of your hand. 

20 



A good many people are troubled when they buy 
a new pair of shoes. The seam from the center is blis- 
tering their feet. Some inexperienced man will take a 
hammer and hammer it down as the customer tells them 
to. The hammering on the seam will break the thread 
easily. The only thing to do is to roll up a piece of 
newspaper and put it in the heel of your shoe so your 
foot will raise up. This will not only prevent from 
blistering your foot; it will give you more room in the 
front part of the shoe by raising the shoe. 

If a seam breaks from the back part of the counter 
sometimes the cause is that a piece of strap inside is 
loose. The strength of the foot will break it easily. 
Before you sew it put in a new piece of leather and this 
will prevent it from breaking. 

The Right Kind of Heel Plates 

A man doesn't have to be selfish and he ahvays has 
to look what savings he can make to the others. As 
for many years, I have seen all different kinds and 
shapes of heel plates. Not one of them suited me when 
I put them on the heel. So I designed these plates. They 
are not only perfect but it prevents the heel from turn- 
ing on one side. 

My design relates to sole and heel protectors and 
the principal object is to provide a sole and heel pro- 

21 




IMetal Plates, Sole and Heel 



22 



teetor that will be inserted to greater or less extent into 
the material of the sole. It is also an object to provide 
means for fastening the protector and also the inserted 
edge. Heretofore, Avearing plates have been applied to 
soles and heels and various methods have been invented 
for efficiently securing the same. A difficulty, how- 
ever, has always been experienced in co-apting the 
adjacent edges of the leather and the wearing plates 
resulting in an irregular surface* the edges of which are 
liable to catch obstructions and trip the wearer with 
consequent danger of receiving injuries from falls. 

My dsign overcomes these objections. My plates 
are adapted either to fit the outer contour of the sole 
and heel, or to be entirely inserted as shown by the cir- 
cular on page 22. 

The portion of the protector formed by the rabbit 
forming a lip is provided with a series of openings 
adapted to receive shoe nails or other fastenings clinched 
in the material of the sole. In securing my improved 
protector to the sole or heel a recess is cut in the sole 
in depth equal to the thinnest portion of the body-por- 
tion of the protector and corresponding in contour to 
the body portion. 

A groove is then cut in the leather parallel to the 
surface and flush with the bottom of the recess, a dis- 
tance of the material of the sole. 

23 



A good many repairers do not understand how to 
put the plates on. To make a good job, straighten the 
heel. First put on the nails in the 3 holes on the out- 
side. Cut your top lift so it will fit, with the even in the 
groove. Drive four nails in half way. Take your top 
lift, put on the nail and hammer down the top lift 
so that the nails will receive the top lift. 

The side plate, which you see the two screws and 
two nails underneath the plate. Put the plate close to 
the edge. 

Hammer doAvn so the two nails under the plate will 
hold. Then drive 3 nails in the side and this will pro- 
tect the sole from wearing off. This plate is designed 
right and left above. 

What Makes Crime? 

One man learns a trade like shoe repairing, plumb- 
ing, carpentering or machinist, as high as a financier has 
to have experience. Only by his doing good work, being 
steady on his job, he will not have a thought of commit- 
ting a crime. If he is discharged from one place, there 
is always another place open for him. An inexperienced 
politician, as soon as he gets on his job, the first thought 
he has, is where and from whom he can graft. As 
his time is limited he isn't fit for the job. 

A man who learns a trade and has been working at 

24 



it and his only thought is tho 6 o'clock whistle, that 
man didn't learn enough, and Avhen this man gets fired 
he finds it very hard to get another job. Being idle he 
is taking up one thing, how to make easy money' and 
stealing is not so easy when he gets caught. He occupies 
a room in prison. If that man Avould put his knowledge 
in good work, he wouldn't have to steal. Good work 
pays for life. We have some inexperienced financiers 
which they represent themselves with the first thought 
on how to get money from the class of working people. 
They are expert crooks and the people should not try 
any more. 

Everybody is an expert, and the next shoe repairer 
knows it. 

If a customer comes to a shoe repair shop and had 
shoes fixed and the shoes are ruined, the next time the 
customer tries another shoe shop, and the customer 
thinks the next man is better. Then she tells him how 
the other shoe-repairer ruined her shoes. And as the 
second less than the first one, he did not consider how 
the job was done by the first one. And instead of im- 
proving the shoe, he ruined it all. And now she gives the 
good shoes to the junk man. 

Mr. Man, at home your Avife does sewing; she never 
did it before ; like sewing up the sleeves of a coat for 

25 



her children. And when the children come home she 
fixes the coat, and if you learn shoe repairing from this 
book you can fix your children's shoes, and it will save 
you many dollars. The sooner you fix the shoe the later 
you will have to buy new shoes. A young man who is 
stuck up is a lazy subject. And that kind of a man is 
not fit for a job. As I was writing this book a young 
nian came to my shop and wanted to know what I was 
doing. I told him that I wrote this book so that any 
one can learn how to fix his own shoes and learn the 
trade so that he can go in business. Then the young 
man said, ''Who wants to fix his own shoes? I would 
rather pay to got my shoes fixed, to let someone else 
do the job." Then he tells me he is out of a job for 
about two months, and that if I fix his shoes he will 
pay me next week. But I told the young man that this 
book is for his future. Then I told him he wouldn't have 
the money next week as you haven't today if you do not 
learn the trade. 

Instructions 
If a man has a couple pair of shoes and he doesn't 
wear them very often, they get dry and then he can't 
wear them. The inner sole gets cracked so it cuts the 
foot, the counter is dry and that cuts the ankle. If you 
ever have your shoes in that conciiiion, put water in the 

26 



shoes, and wet the counter so the leather will be moist 
And it will go back to its place when you wear them. 

If you put on a sole and you see the inner sole is 
cracked, and the edge of the welt turns up- you should 
not hammer on the sole while it is dry. Put a little 
Avater in the shoe, let it soak in the inner sole for 5 
minutes, then hammer the bottom down and put on the 
sole. 

If you are in the habit of wearing out a hole in the 
upper, as the lining wears out in the little toe and it 
burns the leather, cut a round piece of leather, scive 
the edges thin, put some paste on the leathr, put it in 
the shoe so it sticks. This Avill prevent breaking. 

When a lot of shoe-repairers receive children's shoes, 
they patch them up any old way. Because it takes just 
as long a time to fix small shoes as big ones, you can't 
take too much care in fixing children's shoes, as a child 
will say it hurts his feet. Then the parents will examine 
tlie shoe and as long as they don't find any nails stick- 
ing out in the shoes, the job is done right and there 
are no holes in the shoes. Then you find out that you 
will have to take the child to a foot doctor and then he 
finds that the foot is out of place. And this makes hol- 
lows and humps in the bottom. 

If the top of a shoe breaks from the stitches near 

27 



tlie vamp, oj^en the thread from the vamp, put a piece of 
leather under between the vamp and the top. Stitch it. 

When you repair a sole on a shoe, always see you 
have leather enough to trim the edge so you can extend 
the sole, so when you nail a welt shoe you should not 
have to trim the welt. 

If you cut a sole and it is too small and you're try- 
ing to press the welt in so you can have the leather, 
this Avill ruin the shape of the shoe, and it takes more 
time. Take the sole off and cut a wider sole; the first 
one you can use on a small shoe. 

As you practice shoe repairing you don't need many 
tools' as the machinery is the most important. When 
you are ready to start business on a big scale, so when 
you have a sole fixed and you want it finished, cut your 
edge or heel to a level, then take your rasp, file and 
make the edge smooth and take a piece of window glass 
and scrape it very smooth. Then blacken the edge with 
ink, take burnishing iron, make it a little hot and bur- 
nish the heel to the edge, so it comes to a polish. Take 
a little shoe blacking, then go over it with a cloth. This 
Avill make a smooth finish. 

How to Straighten a Shoe 

Sometimes a shoe Avhich has a bad inner sole, and 
after the sole is worn, and it gets wet, then the shoe 

28 



Avill spread. After they are fixed, one shoe is wider than 
the other. 

To Put Shoe in Shape 

Take one waxed end. If it is a welt shoe put your 
waxed end through the top of the welt, on one side. 
Then take the end and put through the other side of 
the welt. Then put a stitch an inch further and do the 
same on the other side. Draw it in so it comes the 
same width as the other one. Then put your sole on. 
After you finish, put on a stretcher, so the inner sole 
will come to a level. 

To Put on a Hand Sewed Sole 

Prepare your sole as you sec on the model. Trim 
the sole close to the welt. Cut a eha.niel near the edge 
of the sole, as the channel should be cut so it will cover 
the edge from the stitches. Used a waxed end in six cord 
thick. This will be heavy enough to .sew any ordinary 
sole. Examine tiie welt of the shoe. If the edge is cut 
nearer the stitches you can put your stitches next to the 
old stitches. If the stitches are further from the edge, 
then pick the stitches out so you can sew in the same 
holes. Whenever you start to sew start from the welt. 
How to Make a Waxed End 

If you make a w^axed end in six cord, first turn 
around twice on your third finger. Hold together with 

29 



the first and second fingers. Then take each cord and 
untwist by turning to the right so it will get unspinned. 
Take your finger on the point of the untwisted cord and 
pull it off. Do each one the same. 

Then divide in two parts. Make it a little moist with 
your lips. Then put it on your lap and have it about 
an inch apart. Then turn to the left so both parts come 
together. Then turn it to the right so that it gets in a 
fine cord. Then take your cord and put on a hook and 
turn the thread to the right. Then put on shoe-maker's 
wax. Rub it down so it will be smooth. Then take a 
bristle and split it from the lower end to about three 
inches. Take one end. put it on your second finger on 
the left hand, and hold with your thumb, close to the 
place where the bristle is split. With one finger hold 
one end of bristle. Put your waxed end in the split 
from the bristle. Take the other part of the bristle 
and put it between your third finger. 

Then take the first part and lay it down with the 
waxed end and roll it together. Then take the other 
part of the bristle and roll it. Separate so it is all 
twisted. Then put on your wax and turn all together. 
Then make a little hole in your waxed end near the end 
of the bristle. Pull your bristle through the hole so 
that both cords of the bristle will hold it together. 

30 



When you practice shoe repairing you can be your 
OAvn judge. When you drive a nail in a sole see that 
it should be a quarter of an inch apart. Drive them in 
SO they will be all straight. When a nail goes outside 
so it Avill clinch the upper, take a screw driver and bend 
it up so the upper will be free from the welt. 

Sometimes the nail will bend from the inside to the 
upper, as that nail didn't go in the inner sole and this 
will draw the shoes. So you can bend the nail back from 
the upper. If you fix one job, try to see how good you 
can do the next one. 

The best competitor is the dentist, as he is always 
trying to pull someone else's teeth. But if a shoe-re- 
pairer is ruining competition he is pulling his own teeth 
and ruins the other fellow who has to make a living. 
What does a fellow mean when he gives a dollar 
for 50 cents? Then you will think that you have made 
50 cents profit without working. Now, you will lose a 
good many dollars by it. As that fellow who gave you 
the dollar for 50 cents is a crook and he is watching 
you. A shoe-repairer putting on rubber heels for 25 
cents. The price is stamped on the box at 50 cents. It 
is registered by the U. S. Patent Office. Then you claim 
to put them on in five minutes. So you deceive yourself 
and the customer. 

31 i 



In the first place, it takes five minutes to take off 
the old heel. Then when a heel is worn on the outside 
you have to hammer the sole down so it should move to- 
v/ard the outside so the counter will get to its place. 
Then scrape the leather with the file and then scrape 
the rubber heel a little. Put the cement on both parts 
and the sole and the heel. Let it dry for five minutes. 
By doing this way it will pay you a dollar an hour for 
your good work. 

If you think that to put on a rubber heel in five 
minutes and so it is as an advertisement, then you better 
go to a dentist. He will fix you right. 

It is not necessary to have too many tools to do shoe- 
repairing. I went into a shoe-cobbler's. He was about 
75 years old. His wife died before he was 30. The rest 
of his life he stayed single. His pleasure was to buy 
tools, and that is why his wife died, as she was more 
economical and couldn't stand it any longer. As he 
was talking about his wife he never shed a tear. Then 
I understood that he was satisfied to be single. 

The world doesn't stand in one place. As every 
year he passes by, some new inventions came out. So 
he spent his life's savings to get some tools. My idea 
is you do not need many tools and you can save the 
soles. 

32 



This is the following tools you need to do expert 
shoe-repairing : 



1. 


One stand and four lasts, 


2. 


A pointed toe-lap last. 


3. 


Peg awl. 


4. 


A sewing awl. 


5. 


Two hafts. 


6. 


A hammer. 


7. 


Eight-inch rasp file. 


8. 


Lip point scive. 


9. 


Pincher. 


10. 


Burnisher. 


11. 


Instep stretcher. 


12. 


Sharp stone. 



33 



The Levinson Shank Plate 



To whom it may concern: Be it known that J. M. 
Levinson of Los Angeles, California, invented and pro- 
duced a new and original design for a "shank-plate" of 
which the following is a specification and reference, the 
accompaning draAving forming a part thereof. 

The leading feature of said design being to protect 
the shank from the shoe, is a body portion extending 
from the heel to the half sole, the protector is amplified 
in this recess- the lip of the protector being slipped under 
the lip of the welt, (Fig. 1) representing a plain view 
of said shank plate and embodying said lusign (Fig. 2) 
with a< view of the lip securely held under the welt bind- 
ing the sole and welt together. Figure 3 forms a series of 
openings adapted to receive shoe nails, a recess being cut 
in the sole in depth equal to the portion of the protector, 
and thus readily be seen that the leather is securely held 
in relation to the protector, and a flush surface is simply 

34 




THE LEVINSON SHANK PLATE 



35 



and easily formed, and the wearing qualities materially 
increased where the sole is protected. 

Honest and remunerative labor should be a pleasure, 
and while at work, one should be alert as to the world's 
needs, not merely for your own benefit, but mankind in 
general. You will observe that the model of a shank pro- 
tector which farmers, miners and pole-climbers all wear 
out the edge of the shank, the steel shank under the sole 
breaks them in half, also the sole, and inner sole too, and a 
problem in repairing, necessitating the removal of heel 
and sole and replacing with new ones, and if your time 
is of any value, it will be found unprofitable, and more 
especially so when you consider the high price of leather- 
and my shank protector will prevent the shank from 
wearing out, the metal slat protects the edge from wear- 
ing away, the sole of the shank, and bottom of sole, 
being protected and holding the welt from the shoe tight 
to the sole and the edge being beveled the same as the 
shank, from the sole. 

These come in all sizes, if the sole in the shank should 
be too thick, you can scive the leather a bit, so that it 
will fit, then place the shank of the shoe on edge of iron 
last, and hammer slightly down so the lip which goes 
under the welt will hold tight, and then add nails accord- 
ing to holes indicated. 

36 



The shank protector v.ill hold the shoe in shape and 
will protect same from turning, the shoe of either side, 
and if you put a now sole on scive the sole a little on top, 
put on the shank protector so it will hold the corners 
from the sole. 

Instead of putting the nails in the edge of the sole 
put them in the shank protection they will hold better, 
the edge of the sole will not loosen so easily being care- 
ful that your nails are not too long, causing them to 
clinch on the inner sole, 4-8 nails will hold any sole and 
be less trouble to remove. 

Many persons wear out the leather on the inside of 
the counter when thoy walk, striking one foot with the 
other, until the leather is gone, and some shoe repairers 
will not take the time to patch invisible ; and in the back 
of all shoes there is a seam ; take a piece of white chalk, 
and draw a line from the back seam from the top 
stitches of the counter, and go down to the heel, then 
mark on the edge of the sole, from under the heel, and 
take your chalk on top of the counter under the ma- 
chine stitches, going down as far as the leather is worn, 
then mark with chalk a half inch farther and a straight 
mark down to the heel, then take your leather and chalk 
pressing down hard enough so the mark on the leather, 
cut around the mark, this will give you the right pattern 

37 



for the patch, and with your knife cut slightly in the 
grain of the leather from the shoe, and cut no deeper 
than a piece of paper. With the point of your knife 
peel oi¥ the grain all around Avhere you made the cut' 
but do not peel the leather towards the heel, and then 
take a piece of sand paper and smooth it off, and take 
leather cement and put on where you peeled the leather, 
let it dry until it gets white, and then take your patch 
and scive the leather down on the left side so the edge 
should be very thin and sharp, and with a screw driver 
lifting the sole a bit from the counter,and take your patch 
with the left side up and lay it down around the heel, 
as far as you made your mark and put in a tack on each 
side. Leave the patch down so that it will reach the 
counter from the heel, with your screw driver press your 
leather down a little so it goes between the heel and the 
counter, take your awl and make one stitch close to the 
l)atch, then with your waxed end put your awl in the 
patch so it goes between the sole and the counter, so 
the patch will sink in, and then make three or four 
stitches all around and then put cement on edge of your 
patch and leave to dry. 

When the work is dry, warm up Avith a match until 
the same is in liquid form, and do the same to the shoe, 
then pull the patch up as far as the top of the seam 

38 



where you made the mark, and handle so it will not leave 
any wrinkles and hammer down slightly, and with a hot 
burnisliing iron press it down hard enough so the patch 
will not show. 

Before you repair ladies shoes, be sure and examine 
the inner sole to see if leather or caiivas> as a canvas 
inner sole will not receive the nails when the sole is put 
on, and before you cut the old sole off take the lining out 
of the shoe and cut your leather inner sole a trifle smaller 
than the lining, then put the inner sole in the inner sole 
straight and put a nail in each side of the shank to 
hold the inner sole, then cut the old sole off, put a tack 
in the toe so the shoe will be straight on the last, and 
ready for the finishing work. 



39 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



lllllillllilllllllllll 

018 374 023 4 



